Griffin Lake helps West Virginia set air rifle record, win program’s 21st NCAA rifle championship

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Griffin Lake won the individual title Saturday, taking second in both smallbore and air rifle, to help West Virginia claim the 2026 NCAA rifle championship, the 21st in program history.

The Mountaineers entered the final day of competition in fourth place, then tied the NCAA record for air rifle score with 2,395 Saturday and finished with an aggregate of 4,748, seven more than second-place TCU, for their second consecutive national title. Mississippi (4,738) was third ahead of Kentucky — last year’s runner-up — and Nebraska with 4,736 each.

TCU was second in air rifle with 2,387 and Kentucky (2,383) finished third.

First-year head coach Will Shaner led Ole Miss to its first smallbore team title with a score of 2,356 and the Rebels tied for the best overall finish in program history.

Lake finished with a score of 1,194 with 101 centers. Audrey Gogniat (1,192, 95 centers) of Ole Miss was second and TCU’s Katie Zaun, who led the competition with 103 centers, finished tied with Océanne Muller (1,191) for third.

Lake became the fifth person in program history to be named the championship’s Most Outstanding Performer.

Kentucky’s Braden Peiser won the smallbore crown with a score of 596 and 37 centers. Lake (595, 44 centers) was second while Zaun and Gracie Dinh of Ole Miss tied for third with 593. Zaun led the smallbore competition with 48 centers.

Gogniat scored a perfect 600 with 54 centers to win the individual air rifle for the second consecutive year. Lake, Muller, Nebraska’s Katlyn Sullivan and West Virginia’s Jennifer Kocher tied for second with 599 apiece.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports